University of North Florida
Francis Marion
UNF baseball takes series,
downs Francis Marion 5-1
3/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 26, 2005
FLORENCE, S.C. - North Florida pitcher Jacob Dixon pitched a complete game, allowing one run and six hits, to earn his first win in nearly two years as the fifth-ranked Ospreys upended 10th-ranked Francis Marion 5-1 in a Peach Belt Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.
Dixon (1-3) missed the 2004 season while recovering from elbow surgery and had yet to win in his first seven starts this season since coming back. He was masterful against the Patriots (21-9-1, 11-9-1) on Saturday, holding them scoreless until the ninth.
The win helped UNF (23-9, 9-6 PBC) win two of the three games in the weekend series and climb into sole possession of third place in the PBC standings, two games back of first-place Lander.
"We played a lot better today defensively and showed a lot more intensity than we did on Friday," UNF head coach Dusty Rhodes said. "It was good to see Jacob get a win under his belt. He looked good out there and needed that one. It was good to win the series."
Matt Oxendine was 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Ospreys, while Marion Knowles hit his ninth home run of the season - a two-run shot in the top of the ninth - to push UNF out to a 5-0 lead.
That was all Dixon needed. The junior from Oneida, Ill., pitched into the ninth for his second consecutive start. Francis Marion scored on a sacrifice fly by Nick Stewart and loaded the bases with two outs after that, but Dixon struck out Brent Johnson to end the threat and secure the win.
The Ospreys scored a pair of unearned runs in the fourth inning after Josh Howard reached on a drive to left that was dropped by FMU outfielder Justin Greene. Howard stole third and scored on Judd Loveland's groundout three pitches later, putting the Ospreys up 1-0. Matt Oxendine followed with an RBI later in the inning, driving home Dennis Anderson on a fielder's choice play.
Grant Rogers' RBI-double in the seventh stretched the UNF lead to 3-0, and Knowles pushed it to 5-0 in the ninth.
Brooks Sinquefield (2-4) suffered the loss, allowing a hit, a walk and the two fourth-inning runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Sadry Café was 2-for-4, Josh Howard 2-for-3 and Dennis Anderson 2-for-4 for UNF. Michael Ward was 2-for-4 for Francis Marion.
UNF will return to action on Wednesday when it travels across town to face Jacksonville University at Alexander Brest Field. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. The game can be heard live on www.UNFOspreys.com.
